Saturday, December 18, 2004

100 years ago: At a conference held to discuss the question of the unemployed, the Dean of York suggested that the strays around the city should be converted into people's parks. He said that quite recently, boys had been told that they could not play football on the strays, and while he did not want to interfere in people's rights, he would like to see a movement inaugurated that would be the means of converting the strays into parks. It would not only provide a great deal of labour while it was being done, but would contribute to the health and welfare of the people of York. To give proof that he was in earnest, if a regular movement could be started towards the object, he would be glad to give £100 to it. They must make haste, he added, as he was 76-years-old, and they could not expect that his successor would be bound by any promise he might make - which provoked much laughter. This suggestion and offer by the worthy Dean was taken up with enthusiasm, the Sheriff of the city coming forward to offer a similar donation of £100. He said that although he was himself a freeman, he was ashamed to say that the stumbling block was his fellow freemen, who owned the strays. But he was quite willing to sacrifice all his rights and privileges to see the city possess the benefits.

50 years ago: The latest exhibit for Scarborough's museum was a squid, three feet and seven inches long, which had recently been washed up in Scarborough sands. It was an unusual specimen, for normally squids found on the Yorkshire coast were only about eighteen inches long.

25 years ago: More than £95,000 had been spent to provide help for the victims of York's worst flood for 25 years, out of a total of more than £125,000 raised by the Lord Mayor's appeal. Most of the funds were dispersed as soon as possible, to provide rapid relief and comfort, but as the first anniversary of the Christmas floods approached, some funds still existed for emergency relief uses. The money from the fund was spent on fuel assistance, furniture, carpets and floor coverings, domestic appliances, repairs, soft furnishings and clothing, insurance, redecorating, emergency subsistence, specialist equipment such as dehumidifier dryers, and disbursements to several groups that helped during the floods.

Updated: 15:12 Friday, December 17, 2004